20

Pulling up outside your complex with a heavy feeling in your chest, Namjoon gently reaches for your wrist.

"Hey, I'm sorry. I wanted to spend more time with you," he softly says. At his words, your chest tightens and a sense of warmth fills you although your face said otherwise.

You lick your lips, before turning your head in his direction. He has his left hand on the steering wheel and he's dressed in his usual suit and tie, while you on the other hand barely had time to look presentable when you both had to rush back to the city since Namjoon was called for an emergency meeting at the office.

You wanted to accompany him there, but he insisted that you take the day off. As your headache and hangover went, it wasn't a big deal.

"For what?"

"Because I-" Namjoon opens his mouth and then closes it. You patiently wait for him, half of your body hanging out of his Mercedes.

"We should talk about last night." He croaks out, and immediately, your body heats up with the thought of his plump lips against yours. The feel of his masculine hands on the back of your neck, caressing, and-

"Do you want me to walk you to your door?" he interjects with your thoughts when he notices you get quiet.

You haven't talked the whole ride back, and Namjoon tried to get a conversation out of you. He's becoming a little paranoid. After what happened last night, the thought of you regretting the kiss has crossed his mind.

Finally, you shake your head out of your little zone and force out a smile. "I'm not a child, Joon. I can take care of myself," you scoff lightly. Namjoon's mouth below and you can tell he's trying so hard not to get out of his car and carry you upstairs. That's all he wants to do right now - if he could - have you in his arms and cuddle with you all day.

You've seen the same look last night, affection. "You go on ahead, you're gonna be late," you urge, slowly pulling yourself from his hold.

Namjoon hesitates, tugging you back as if he was silently begging for you to stay a little longer.

"Joon... you need to go," your tone softens as you throw your bag around your torso.

His car stalls in the middle of the less sumptuous neighborhood, causing heads to turn. A few of the elderly watch with their lawns freshly mowed, a bike passes, and a young man tosses the daily newspaper unto the wet grass. It's not always that they get to see a car so lavish pull up in front of a less known area. It takes a while for you to fully get out, but when you do, you bend your knees and peek at him one last time through the rolled-down window.

"Drive safe."

He frowns childishly. "But I don't want to go. I'll just postpone-"

"No, you won't," you shake your head. "They need you there. They wouldn't have called if it weren't important."

He sighs frustratedly. Then, he voices his thoughts. "Can I come over after?" He asks cautiously, knowing this could make him appear to be clingy or whatnot. There is a hint of hope in his eyes as you gaze at him. "And I, uh... I'll bring takeout?" He adds.

Not thinking twice about spending time with him, you bite the inside of your cheek to prevent yourself from smiling. Namjoon knows the right things to say, and you don't mind it at all. So, you tell him, "Yeah, okay. I'll see you then?" You sound like a schoolgirl trying to maintain the butterflies in your stomach.

You miss this feeling.

He smiles sheepishly, fingers hovering over the stick shift. "Okay, I'll text you."

"Okay, bye," you step off the curb and wave your arm as your feet move at their own pace.

"Bye," he laughs at your actions, leaning his head against the headrest. His eyes never leave yours and he waits for you to make it to the top of the stairs before he finally drives off.

✧ ✦ ✧

"Yaya!"

Both the sound of your nieces blare through the dry walls of your apartment as soon as you walk in.

You forgot they were here.

You gulp, suddenly feeling nervous as everything begins to dawn on you.

"H-hey girls..." You greet them and paddle your way through the wooden floorings, instantly met with a bear hug. "Where's your mommy?"

"In the shower," Inso responds kindly, one of her thumbs hanging from the side of her mouth as she studies you. If you only knew how crazy you look with your hair tangled in a knot that even a hair clip couldn't save.

Yaji buries her head lovingly in the crook of your neck. "We missed you, Yaya. Mommy has been looking for you. She says that you had to stay at the giant doll house with Ken..."

Your eyes almost bulge out realizing her words. Dollhouse and... Ken?! What has your dear sister been telling her kids?

You place your bag on the counter as Yaji and Inso successfully descend from the stools, dressed in adorable purple and pink onesies with polka dots. Sooya is nowhere to be found, but the shower in the bathroom next to the small laundry room can be heard.

"Have you guys eaten?" You ask, dismissing their previous comment about the Kim's mansion and Namjoon, who they call 'Ken'.

"Yup, we had fruit snack gummies!"

You grimace at their response, shaking your head in disapproval.

"For breakfast? That's not good. Do you guys want something else?" With them still clinging to your sides like a Koala, you walk over to the small kitchen and have them sit on the stools.

"I'll cook up some eggs and slice up some fresh fruits, is that okay?"

Their eyes dance with excitement as they swing their sock-covered feet off the chair. "Yes, please! And will you please add some Nuggies?"

Chuckling at their cuteness, you nod your head and salute them playfully. "Yes, ma'am."

As if on cue, your sister finally emerges from the bathroom with a towel around her damp hair. She must've heard the ruckus coming from the kitchen, and she figured you made it home safely after a night of excessive concern.

"Oh, she remembers to come home," Sooya huffs a humorless laugh. You turn from the oven to send her a glare.

"Seriously, gummies for breakfast?" You deadpanned. Sooya crosses her arms over her v-neck shirt.

Yaji raises her arms towards her, signaling for her to be carried. "It was vitamins," Sooya takes her in her dainty arms and the kid instinctively wraps her small legs around her mother's waist.

"And don't lecture me about my kids," she says.

You stop yourself from rolling your eyes. It was inevitable- having small disagreements here and there about your concern for your nieces. And it always went like this; you'd offer advice to her and she just shrugs it off as though she's too stubborn to admit that sometimes, she may need someone's help. It doesn't have to be you- it could be your mom, your dad, or even your brat of a brother.

You weren't a mother yourself, but you aren't blind to the hardships Sooya has to face as a single mother. She has to take care of two girls, send them to school, and be there for every event in their lives. You admired her. So just hearing those words come out of her mouth, you can't help but feel sad.

"That's not what I'm doing," you say calmly, mindful not to raise your voice with the kids around. "I'm just worried."

You don't know if that's what you're concerned about. Sweets in the morning would be the least of your worries. Soon you realize that, yes, you weren't anticipating hearing questions about the events that occurred last night, and Namjoon.

You know your sister too well. The topic of your boss will eventually be her daily scoop.

"Worried?" She repeats. "We should be the one saying that to you. What happened last night? I thought you were coming home, you could've texted back."

Turning off the stove, you reach for plates and serve your hungry nephews waiting patiently and silently on the stool. They smile at you, showing off their toothy grin, mouthing a small 'thanks'.

You return their sweet gesture and help them to the living space. "I think Pororo is on," you inform them. They oblige and take their leave.

"So?" Sooya snaps your attention back to her. "What's your excuse now?"

Sighing, you take a clean rag and start wiping the counter. "My phone died. You can check in my bag, if you don't believe me," you tell her honestly.

There was no reason for you to be explaining yourself. You're a grown adult, but it was just the simple idea of easing their minds that was important to you.

On any other day, you would never purposely ignore any of your family's text messages, no matter how busy you got. As for them though, they would ask how you were doing once or twice a month. But now, you hope it'll change. Then, you'll be able to finally live a slow-paced life.

"You didn't come home though?" She presses, her tone is not demanding but it still gets your heart beating, afraid of where this question would lead to. You're not ready to tell her about Namjoon. She would be the one to tell the rest of the family if ever.

"I overestimated my alcohol tolerance," you confess as you put on some gloves to wash the pans and plates piled in the sink. Of course, the moment you have guests over, the more house chores you have to do. For fucks sake, you can't even recall the last time you washed a steamer.

"I didn't want to drive back so late."

Sooya looks at you with suspicion. You raise your brows in response. "What?" You let out a croak. You should've known she had you figured out the moment she walked into the room.

"Y/N, you're wearing his fucking shirt. What the hell."

"How do you know if it belongs to him?" You argue in despair. You're so keen on getting her to believe you, though your efforts were futile.

"Because it has a fucking Louis Vuitton logo on it," she reason. "Last time I checked you don't even own any branded clothing."

She's right. You would never spend millions of won for a shirt that fades and shrink in the washer like all the other clothes in the world. You shift nervously on your spot, looking everywhere but in her direction.

How could you be so stupid?!

Sooya puts a hand over her mouth, muffling her gasp. "Did you guys...-"

"Of course not!" You say right away. Not that you would mind, you mentally slap yourself. You haven't even cleared out your situation with him, but you're already making scenarios in your head.

"Oh my God..." Sooya exhales and settles into one of the stools. You look like someone who has just been caught doing something wrong, even if you don't believe you have. It was consensual. You and Namjoon both agreed to the kiss, sober or not. End of story.

"Are you guys...a thing?"

You strategically plot your answer in your head as if you were scared to mess up. But it's Sooya, what else can't she discover? You're tempted to just tell her about the kiss, but you don't want to get ahead of yourself while Namjoon hasn't even talked about what he truly feels.

You just can't take the chance. If this doesn't end up happening, you don't want to look stupid.

"No, Sooya, we are not a thing. Whatever that means."

"I'm not." Technically hiding a part of the story isn't lying.

"Then what's that on your neck?" she points out. You practically jump on your spot and rush to check using the camera on your fridge.

There's nothing.

"What the hell, Sooya?" You scowl, feet stomping in the direction of your bedroom. "You're unbelievable!" You refrain from slamming the door and lock yourself in your bathroom.

"Next time tell me the whole truth!" Sooya calls out, her voice muffled by the pillow covering your ears.

Feeling the exhaustion drain the life out of you, sleep greets you.

You have no idea what time it is because all you can think about is the warm shower you've started. After putting dirty clothes in the hamper next to your bathroom door, you enter the cubicle.

Scrubbing away the irritation and frustration, you step out and wrap yourself in a white towel. A smaller one, with the material of satin, is wrapped around your hair.

The most difficult part of your seemingly simple routine is the hair. It takes some time to dry, but not enough to completely remove the moisture before applying at least three different products to keep the soft waves as is.

The excessive knocking on your door takes your focus away, and the irritated look crosses your moisturized face. "Leave me alone, Sooya," you grumble through clenched teeth.

"Y/N, open it," she demands, her tone becoming impatient. You think she's calling you out for dinner. But, since you know she doesn't cook, she might also ask you to cook.

Both sound exhausting.

You're not in the best state to even be walking around. Okay, maybe you're overreacting, but really, you should make the most out of your one day off instead of being bossed around in your own home.

"Sooya, make yourself at home," you shout back and make your way to your drawers. You grab a clean pair of underwear and bra until a heavier knock is heard. Groaning at the sound, you finally unlock your door only to be met with a face you already miss.

"N-Namjoon?"

Your breath hitches and your hands go up to support the towel around your body. The flush coating his cheeks and down his neck doesn't go unnoticed by you as your eyes roam his sharp features. He's no longer in a fitted suit and tie, yet, he looks even more attractive with a simple hoodie and blue jeans. He's even wearing sandals.

Kim Namjoon completes the D in D.I.L.F, but you know, without the kids.

"Uh, hey. I'm here. Your sister let me in," he says unsurely, taking a step back to avoid making you uncomfortable. "I texted you?"

"I forgot to charge my phone," you mumble. Damn, you must've looked like an idiot right now. You left out the part where your sister and her kids are staying with you when you said yes to him.

"Oh," Namjoon says. "Is it a bad time?" His gaze shifting to the two young girls peering from behind the wall. Sooya looks at you knowingly from the kitchen, then grabs a banana and annoyingly waves it around her face.

What the actual fuck.

Clearing your throat, you grab his shoulders to prevent him from having to witness an embarrassing scene unfold in front of him. He would have nightmares.

"I'm sorry. I should've called or something. Right when I got home, I fell asleep and forgot."

He shakes his head and looks at you with understanding. "No, it's okay. You don't have to explain. I was just surprised that's all," he says, running a hand through his silky hair. How you'd wish to glide yours over it...

"Yeah, about that... they didn't have a place to stay for their short visit, so we're kind of crammed. I apologize."

"They came here for mom's birthday, right?" He asks, and you can already see the hint of guilt in his eyes.

"No, please, don't feel bad. They're happy to be here," you smile, but there was a part of you that wished Sunho was here as well. Namjoon, contrary to what your younger brother thought about him, deserves to be remembered as a kind-hearted person.

"But still..." he murmurs.

"Hey," you look up at him through your lashes. Because of the unwanted audience in the apartment, both of you are fighting your inner desire to touch each other in any way.

You made an effort to relax to avoid adding to your sister's imaginary list.

"Don't feel bad. This isn't a big deal, I promise," you reassure him.

"Yoohoo," an exaggerated clearing of a throat stops you. "Dinner's ready!" Sooya sang on purpose. She's trying to get a reaction out of you, but you refuse to give it to her, and instead, you nod your head.

"Will you be okay with her? I'll go change quickly."

"Yes, don't worry. I get along with everyone," the smile on his face that shows his dimples is enough to make you weak in the knees.

"My sister can get a bit... blunt," you mention, cringing a bit. "Don't mind her."

"I'm sure she doesn't mean any harm," Namjoon stays optimistic even though you can see the slight twitch of his face when he's put in certain situations.

Catching your sister's eyes already set on you, you mouth 'be nice'.

"Go before you catch a cold," Namjoon laughs, stopping himself from sliding his hands on your lower back to push you back into the room. He makes sure to subtly show his care without being too obvious in front of your audience, which has now dispersed into the small dining room.

"Don't miss me too much," you joke, to which he winks.

"I'll try my best."

ughh poor baby I can very much relate to the family message thing :/

ANYWAYS. pls don't forget to vote :) ik I rarely ask my readers, but it's honestly what keeps me going & motivated to write... sometimes I base the idea/plot of upcoming chapters on the most voted & liked previous chapters to see what my readers like, whether that be slow-burns, smut, fluff, angst, etc.